Page 12 of My Girl
Gabriel went ashen at her words, his skin leaching of all healthy colour. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He tried again, stammered, closed his mouth. The silence lay heavy in the air as Sheridan waited him out. After a couple of minutes, he eventually managed to get the words out.
“No hospitals.” He reached for his belt, making short work of getting his pants undone. “Here. Have at it. Just no hospitals,” he mumbled, almost as if to himself.
“You get those off,” she said. “I’ll go get my first-aid kit. I’ll be right back.”
Gabriel
Gabriel couldn’t remember ever undressing as quickly as he had when Sheridan exited the living room. He just hoped she’d say nice words at his funeral if Jay ever found out he’d been half-naked in front of the man’s baby sister.
By the time she’d come back into the room, he’d taken a seat on the sofa and covered himself with a throw pillow. He’d had to rest his foot on the denim pooled on the floor as his leg continued to bleed. There was enough of a mess on the kitchen floor; he didn’t want to make it worse by bleeding all over her living room floor as well.
Now here he was, his leg cradled in her lap as she cleaned it trying to see how bad the cut was. He clenched his teeth at how good her hands felt on his bare skin, wishing he could feel them in other places, namely all over his body. God help him, but he lusted after his best friend’s sister and had no idea what to do about it.
Sheridan leaned farther over, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, so engrossed was she in her task. He longed to pull that plump little bit of temptation free and kiss her until she was breathless. Without conscious thought, his body swayed towards her just as she inhaled sharply. He heard her mumbling under her breath.
“What is it, Sheri? Is there a problem?” He was proud he’d managed to speak in a normal tone of voice.
“Um, Gabe, I know you said no hospitals ...” She chewed on the lip he’d been fantasizing over minutes before.
He didn’t like it. Not one bit. “Yeah? Out with it.”
“The cut – it’s pretty deep. Needs stitches deep. I know you don’t want to go, but I really do need to get you to the ER. I can’t fix this with what I have on hand. I can’t stop the bleeding, and I can’t leave it.”
His throat closed at the idea of having to go to the hospital. He shook his head vehemently, needing her to understand what he couldn’t say – the words he couldn’t squeeze out past the lump that felt like a boulder. The breath started stuttering out of his mouth as it once again sped up.
“No, no. No! Gabe, don’t. Breathe with me. Just like in the kitchen. Focus on how I inhale and exhale and match it.” As she had in the kitchen earlier, Sheridan lay her hand over his heart. The contact and breathing in sync with her had him gathering his composure before he completely lost it.
“Yeah, like that. Keep going.” She smoothed her free hand over his forehead and down his cheek. “You’re doing great. That’s it.”
When he was calmer, she dropped her hand. They sat side by side in awkward silence – what was there to say? He knew Sheridan wouldn’t push him to go to the hospital if she didn’t think it was necessary, but he wasn’t sure he could keep his shit together if he went. They held nothing but the worst memories for him.
The last time he’d been in one was after the bus accident. And, if it were up to him, it would remain the last time.
“Gabe?” Her quiet enquiry broke into his thoughts.
Without lifting his head, he simply replied, “Yeah?”
“I’m sorry, honey. I wouldn’t insist if I didn’t think it was necessary. I can see the idea makes you uncomfortable. But this is serious.”
His shoulders slumped in defeat. Without a word, he nodded. He didn’t have it in him to argue. The unexpected feel of her hands on him had him jerking in surprise. He heard her murmured “sorry” and felt the soft brush of fabric against his skin. He lifted his head to find Sheridan wrapping a bandage around the wound.
“I’ll bind it to restrict the flow until we can get it looked at.” She got to her feet. “Let me get you a pair of board shorts, and we can be on our way.”
Again, he simply nodded. Sheridan went down the short passage to his room and disappeared, leaving him to his own thoughts. His dark, unhappy thoughts. When she came back, she helped him to his feet, then kneeled to guide them into the legs of his shorts.
At any other time, he’d have been turned on to see such a beautiful woman on her knees before him. Now he couldn’t think of anything other than the fact that shortly he’d been reliving his worst nightmare.
He watched as Sheridan rose gracefully, and despite his frame of mind, he couldn’t help but admire her curvy little body. He was in pain, both mentally and physically, but he’d have to be dead not to appreciate what God had blessed her with.
Holding her hand out to him, Sheridan gave him a sympathetic smile. “Come on, big guy. Let’s get this out. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can come home.”
Heaving a heartfelt sigh, Gabriel grimace. “May the record reflect that I object, most strenuously, to this course of action. However, I respect your opinion, so let’s just get this over and done with.”
Going to her tiptoes, she placed a sweet kiss to the bottom of his jaw – the highest spot on his face she could reach. She took his hand, gave a gentle squeeze, and led him toward the door. He hobbled behind her, his mind a riot of chaotic thought, his body feeling he’d gone ten rounds with Muhammed Ali and lost.
When they got to the hospital, Sheridan pulled up to the emergency room doors to let him out with instructions for him to wait for her. He watched as she went off in search of a parking space, praying he’d be able to hold it together long enough to make it through this torture.
So completely lost in his misery, he didn’t hear her return. Gabriel startled violently when she laid a soft little hand on his arm. Clapping one of his own to his chest, he exclaimed, “Jesus, woman. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
